I hope he likes it.
As I’m working, I think about how much has changed since Foster and I got together.
The arts center has been a blessing for the local economy, but as more visitors come here, our way of life changes.
More folks want to move to Songbird Ridge than our existing housing can sustain, and the town is having to contend with endless requests from developers who want to buy up the virgin forests in our surrounding mountains.
Riley and Rowdy have been inseparable and got engaged just a few months ago. Now, I’m helping my sister plan her wedding.
Maddie’s matchmaking business exploded due to all her hard work in the beginning, and Riley and I finally convinced her to hire help.
Just as she was beginning to understand the meaning of balance, we all got the surprise of our lives when her ex came back to Songbird Ridge.
No one saw that coming.
But a part of me wasn’t all that surprised. Maddie and Ewan’s breakup is legendary.
Seeing them together feels comforting. Like things that were broken have been set right.
Headlights flash across the windows just as I’m finishing up my final project for the day. Foster is here to pick me up.
I can’t get to his arms soon enough.
“Finished?”
I nod and accept his kiss, his soft beard tickling my chin.
“What’ve you been up to? You got that dazed look in your eye. Like you’ve been in the zone for hours.”
“Something for you,” I say, handing him an envelope.
I wait anxiously as Foster opens it and pulls out the small card I made by hand. It looks at first like an old-fashioned Valentine, but then he reads the words out loud.
“Foster Hale and Ariana Little request the honor of your presence as they are joined in matrimony on the twelfth of October…wait a minute.”
Foster looks from the card to me. “Sunshine, what did you do?”
“I made an invitation to our wedding. If you’re free that day.”
“Are you trying to steal my thunder?”
I step back. “No…no, babe, I’m asking. Will you marry me?”
Foster’s shoulders shake as he covers his eyes.
“Are you laughing or crying?”
And then he gets down on one knee. “Yes. I’ve been carrying this around for a while, waiting for the right moment…”
First, he produces a sheet of folded paper from his back pocket and hands it to me. Curious, I open it and see that it’s a mockup of a new sign for his store.
I read the new name aloud, “Albatross Outfitters.” I shriek a laugh, because only Foster would pick such a ridiculous name to fit in with the downtown businesses.
While I’m still laughing, he produces something else from the other pocket.
This time, it’s a little red box, and inside is a white-gold band with a line of heirloom diamonds.
“Oh my god, Foster.”
